


Hope and Despair

by EternalHopeisMyCompany



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Zero | Fatal Frame
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2019-08-03 09:51:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16323962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalHopeisMyCompany/pseuds/EternalHopeisMyCompany
Summary: Shiro just wished he could find a way to cope with life without Adam. But, looks like other more sinister beings have other ideas. Based on the Fatal Frame Series. Mainly 3. Rated M for potential later chapters. Eventual Sheith and possible other pairings. Violence warning for later chapters.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has to be one of the weirder ideas I've ever come up with. But, think Voltron characters in the Fatal Frame series with all them lovely ghosts and that is the jist of it. This story will mainly be set in 3, but not exactly follow it's plot line. I would not want to write a story that just follows the game step by step. The story will also reference, for sure, 1 & 2 and possibly 4. The fifth game would be the basis of a sequel if I ever write one for this story. I do hope you all get some enjoyment out of this. If not, welp, I dared to dream right? 
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: October 17, 2018

"Takashi."

Adam smiled warmly at him. "I know this is not the best of circumstances, but you mentioned that we needed to get back to the house before tomorrow." He placed his hand over Takashi's. "It isn't the first nor last time someone has had to drive in the dark while it was raining. I am making sure to drive carefully." After squeezing the hand gently, he placed the hand back on the wheel. "But, is that what is really bothering you? You seem…out of it lately."

He heard Takashi sigh softly. "Just been having a lot of nightmares lately."

Adam blinked a bit, briefly glancing at Takashi out of the corner of his eye. "About what?" He asked even though he already had a feeling he knew the answer.

The rain dropped hard onto the car and created a loud echo in the car. That was all Adam heard for a few minutes until he heard Takashi give an answer.

"About that village." Takashi's voice wavered slightly. "I keep seeing Kuron and red butterflies and…" He paused while his body trembled, and he gripped the seat tightly. "And those things."

Adam sighed softly. "We'll be home soon. Just focus on the rain." He frowned and kept his eyes on the road. He wished he knew what to say to make Takashi feel better. Kuron going missing and then being declared dead had really gotten to Takashi. But, things like ghosts and haunted places just didn't exist. He knew something terrible had happened to Takashi when he and his twin disappeared a few years back. Yet, he found it hard to believe the tale Takashi wove to him.

The supernatural just didn't exist.

"ADAM! LOOK OUT!"

He tensed at Takashi calling out, gritting his teeth. He was about to say something when he blinked. In the middle of the road was a woman. What was a woman doing out here in the middle of the night? He didn't get a good look at her before he found himself having to quickly swerve out of the way. His eyes widened at feeling the car move further than he wished. The rain slicked road made it hard to keep his tires from sliding.

"TAKASHI! Hold on!" He placed his arm over Takashi's chest as he felt the car hit the barrier at the edge of the road. If only the road wasn't bordering a cliff like it did. While the car started to go beyond the barrier, he clenched his eyes shut.

"I love you, Takashi. I always will."

"Adam I lo-"

That was all Adam heard before everything went to black.   
  
  
"ADAM!" Shiro sat up quickly from his bed and panted loudly. He wiped at his forehead before quickly glancing around his room. His eyes focused on his bedroom door that slowly opened. A teenage girl with glasses on her face and clothes that were baggy appeared before him. He blinked slowly, his mind finding itself a bit cloudy presently.

The girl huffed loudly and came inside the room. "Shiro, it's Katie? Pidge? Geez. You really are horrible to talk to when you first wake up." She placed a plate of food onto the table. "Matt brought over some food. He said he would be back over with some photos from that place you two went to together. The one uh…," she trailed off slightly before huffing a bit, "your late fiancé went to with that co-worker?"

Shiro tensed at the mention of Adam. Adam's death still stung after a year. But, he slowly nodded as he got himself out of the mental fog. "Thanks, Pidge." He called her by her preferred name, a nickname she apparently gave herself some years ago.

"No problem." She headed back towards the door before taking a deep breath. "I know you may not like this, but Matt is bringing over that co-worker. Matt thinks the guy may have some answers about the uh…strange dreams."

He scowled a bit. He hadn't been wishing to see anyone new since Adam's death. Only when he had to for work or needed to. He wasn't sure meeting this person was necessary. However, he had corresponded with the man and at least the person seemed nice. It just didn't stop the desire to seclude himself away though with the darker emotions that lingered inside him.

"Do you know when they would be coming over?" Shiro slowly got out of his bed, stretching his arms and legs. He saw Pidge look down at her phone.

"In a few hours? So, you got time to get yourself ready and looking presentable." She shrugged slightly. "I'll make sure the house doesn't look a mess. So, don't worry about that." She smiled at her boss and roommate. "Though, you might have some photos you still need to develop. Not sure. I'll double check that. I'm sure that can be done after the visit though."

Shiro nodded and got out of the bed. He noticed he was still in his clothes from yesterday. He sighed softly. He must have forgotten to change out of his clothes. "Alright. I can check on the photos myself in a bit."

Pidge looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Sounds good. I'll be around if you need me." She left the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Shiro sighed while running a hand through his hair. He took a couple of deep breaths before gritting his teeth. His right shoulder experienced a brief sharp stinging pain. It wouldn't be the first time his right arm and shoulder acted up. When he looked though, he blinked at the glimpse of a grey and black tattoo. "What?" He placed his fingers on the skin of what remained of his right shoulder. Right when he did so, the marking was gone and so was the pain.

"I must be still trying to wake up." He shook his head, recalling the pain happening on other nights since visiting the last place Adam did for their photography business.

While it had not been adventuring out into the galaxite frontier or even flying planes, Shiro enjoyed the business well enough. It paid the bills and allowed some creative outlets. But, running a business by himself now exhausted him and ruined some of the enjoyment he once had…The strange sensations and dreams since visiting that abandoned mansion only drained more joy out of photography for him.

At least last night's nightmares had been one of his usual nightmares and not one of finding himself traversing an old mansion filled with ghosts.

He sat at the table and started eating the food. He smiled faintly. Matt remembered he liked a somewhat healthy breakfast and got him some sausage, scrambled eggs, and a little bowl of various fruit such as blueberries. He would have to thank him later.

After finishing eating, he went about the daily tasks of contacting his various clients and developing photos. He hadn't realized how much time had passed until he came out of the dark room. "Pidge?" He noticed her staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"Uh, did you forget about the visitors? Figure you would want to wear more than that." She pointed at the fact Shiro only wore some sweatpants and a tank top.

Shiro flustered and quickly rushed up the stairs. He swore he heard Pidge snickering, but that could have just been him. His foot hit something soft and he barely kept himself from falling over. He glanced down to see two cats looking up at him. "Sorry Kuro and Red. Didn't see you guys." He smiled sheepishly before quickly entering his bedroom.

He threw on some black pants, a skin tight long sleeve black shirt, and a vest he got from somewhere. If only he could remember who gave him the vest with the hints of yellow and grey…

Once he got himself ready, he heard the doorbell ring. "I got it!" Pidge yelled from downstairs. Shiro sighed in relief while slipping on some black boots. Was Matt going to tease him he had gone Goth or something silly with all the black? He rolled his eyes while smiling at the thought. Matt could stand his darker moods somehow. Guess that was what childhood best friends were for.

He heard Pidge talking with people as he made his way out of the bedroom. He leaned over the banister and looked down to see Pidge talking with Matt and someone with dark brown hair styled in a mullet. He blinked at that, tilting his head. He was about to say something when he noticed Red going down the stairs and…rubbing himself against the stranger? His eyes widened at the sight.

"Woah Matt. You brought someone over Red likes that isn't me, you, or Shiro? Ho-ly shit I never thought I would see the day!"

Matt's laughter reverberated in Shiro's ears. "Eh. I'm not surprised. He seems really good with animals even if he's bad with people."

The stranger crouched down to pet Red, but Shiro had a feeling the guy was glaring up at Matt. "Yeah well, animals can be a lot more tolerable and more easily understood than people." The guy spoke while still petting the cat.

"Yeah yeah." Matt waved his hand dismissably before looking up. "Oh, hey Shiro! Glad to see you're up!"

Shiro smiled down at Matt. It was nice to know Matt still called him Shiro rather than well…his first name. He still had issues anytime someone called him that.

"Haha. I don't sleep all day you know." He smiled back and saw the stranger turn and look up as well.

Shiro's eyes widened at seeing a man with blue grey eyes looking at him and a scar across his right cheek. It was the facial structure along with the eyes though that caused his head to throb and images to appear in his mind.

"Takashi? Kuron? Where are you all?" A boy close to their age called out as the two twins hid themselves in the same bush. "I know I said I wanted to play hide and seek but come on! I swear you two keep moving!" The boy pouted while standing in front of their hiding bush. "And that's not how you play-EEEP!"

The boy got gripped tightly by Kuron who laughed loudly.

"Kuron!" Takashi pouted. "You just got us found by doing that!"

Kuron snickered while resting his head on top of the boy's. "It was just too hard to resist spooking him. He's just so cu-OW!" Kuron rubbed his cheek where the boy punched him. "And feisty."

Takashi rolled his eyes before looking at the boy. "Are you alright? He didn't scare you too bad, did he?" He couldn't help the slight jest to his tone as he gently placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Takashi. At least you have manners unlike Kuron." The boy smirked and Kuron pouted, causing Takashi to laugh.

"Now now Kei-"

"Takashi? Is that you?" Shiro got interrupted by hearing his first name spoken by an unfamiliar voice. As he focused back on reality, he realized no, that voice was familiar. It was just older and belonged to someone he had only recalled when he could think about his twin without feeling intense stabs of pain.

"Keith." He spoke softly, watching Keith climb slowly up the stairs. "I…go by Shiro now." He quickly said while watching Keith come closer and closer to him. "But yes, I'm him. I'm not…" He glanced off to the side before feeling a hand on his shoulder. He looked back over to see Keith looking at him calmly.

"I know. I heard about what happened to him. I'm sorry."

Shiro wanted to cry out and say Keith really hadn't heard. The news didn't report what really happened to his brother. Adam didn't believe him, and he wasn't sure Matt or Pidge did either. He didn't dare to tell his other friends, Hunk and Allura, about that experience. So how could Keith know? But, he kept his mouth shut. He knew getting angry at someone he hadn't seen in years would do him no good.

"Thanks." Shiro said instead with a strained smile on his face. "I appreciate the sentiment."

Why did Keith scowl at him now? "You don't need to bullshit me." Keith spoke softly to keep Matt and Pidge from hearing. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Shiro blinked before smiling a bit more naturally now. "Right, you were always perspective of what me and him were feeling." He placed one of his hands on Keith's shoulder. "It's good to see you though really. I can't believe you were working with Adam this whole time. We could have had a nice reunion sooner." It was strange, but in that moment, he felt no pain talking about a what if that would never occur.

"Yeah, would have been nice. I just never heard his fiancé's last name so…I didn't assume it was you." Keith explained with a faint smile on his face. "With that out of the way though, I believe we have important things to discuss?" He pointed downstairs to photos spread all along the coffee table.

"Oh, right yes. Let's get that over with. We can catch up after." Shiro hoped he would be up to doing so afterwards. Even with Keith being someone he knew in the past, he wasn't sure if Keith wouldn't emotionally exhaust him. Sometimes even Matt and Pidge did.

But, as the four of them sat on the couch (which was a bit cramped with all of them on it like that) and discussing the mansion, Shiro found himself oddly rejuvenated. Matt's playful remarks, Pidge's smart-aleck comments, and Keith's blunt statements were all easy to work with. Enjoyable even. It felt like Keith had been there the whole time rather than just returning into his life unexpectedly.

He liked that feeling a lot.

However, as he glanced outside to see rain once more, he saw a figure in the backyard. He swallowed at the sight of a ghostly woman with tattoos covering her upper torso. His heart raced as she pointed to him and then to each of the others one by one. Then, he barely kept himself from screaming at her gripping what looked to be Adam and dragging him away as if implying soon they all would be taken away too.

"Shiro?" Keith called out to him and Shiro quickly looked at him. He swallowed while taking quick breathes.

"I'm okay." Shiro quickly said to reassure Keith, and likely Pidge and Matt as well.

But, he felt once again the burden of something heavy pressing onto his mind and body. And god knows if he would be strong enough to protect those around him from whatever had come their way…let alone himself. He could only pray that whatever entity had now chosen to plague him, and others would soon be vanquished, or else none of them would make it out alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Shiro still finds himself dreaming of that old mansion, he soon realizes what happens in this strange place may have far more reaching outcomes than he ever realized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I actually did decide to continue this. I don't know how frequently I will update. But, the goal is to update monthly at the least. The person I usually have read over my stuff before posting though wasn't able to this time around. So, please excuse any errors I may have missed during my own proofreading. Enjoy Chapter 2 and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: December 25, 2018

Honestly, Shiro had hoped he wouldn’t find himself in that mansion once more. But, that was wishful thinking at this point. Ever since reuniting with Keith and the four of them trying to solve the mystery, Shiro did not dream of anything else but him in that old place. Here he was again, roaming about the large tatami rooms and wooden hallways. At least he always had a flashlight on him to illuminate the parts not well-lit and the strange camera that now kept his constant company in this nightmare.

“What do you think it is?” Shiro looked over at Keith, tilting the camera from side to side. “I mean, I know it’s a camera but…I just never have seen one that looks like this one.” He aimed the camera to where Keith could look into the viewfinder. “It has all kinds of strange symbols and the photo I found in there the other day…” He pointed to the developed photo on the table in front of them. “It just doesn’t add up.”

Shiro watched Keith slowly pick up the photo and then noticed his eyes widen. “Keith? Do you recognize the woman?”

Keith nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know a guy named Lance McClain and that’s his sister, Veronica, in that photo. I’m sure of it.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “But how in the world did a camera that Adam told me no longer worked have a photo inside of it of someone?” 

“I don’t know.” Keith quickly said and looked over at Shiro. “Yet I have a feeling this camera and what it can do will be the least of the mysteries we are going to have to solve.”

Shiro examined the camera once again. Here, the camera seemed capable of capturing photos of the unliving inhabitants here. Not only that, but the symbols glowed in response and seemed to emit some sort of power that harmed the ghosts. Try as he might to get the camera to do that outside of his dream though and he might as well be trying to move a mountain. 

He sighed softly as he kept a tight grip on the camera. Just as he stepped into a set of tatami rooms, he heard a woman’s voice calling out something. He tensed and looked about to see if it was the tattoo ghost. His body relaxed as well as his heart at realizing it wasn’t her. But then, who was it that he heard calling out? He furrowed his eyebrows while slowly walking in the direction of the voice came from.

“Veronica? Is that you?” He called out. He frowned when he heard no response. After taking a deep breath, he opened a door and found himself in a hallway with stairs leading up to another floor. He looked up the stairs just as he saw a woman looking down at him with widened eyes and her mouth agape. His eyes widened at the way she looked. 

Glasses adorned her face as short dark brown hair moved when she turned around. If she hadn’t bolted so quickly, he swore he could have been surer she had light blue eyes that would have matched her dark skin. “Wait!” He yelled and ran up the stairs. He blinked when he got up there and he saw no sight of the woman. “What the world?” He swore she looked solid like himself. So, where did she go? He glanced from side to side while heading down the corridor. Maybe she had just been a quicker runner than he thought.

When he saw a door closed, he headed towards it. He tried the door but found it locked. “Dammit.” He cursed lowly before feeling the camera vibrate in his hand. “Huh?” He lifted it up and noticed the filament in it had turned blue. Cautiously, he raised the camera up to the door and took a photo of it. He tensed at seeing some image flash before his eyes. A person staring at him from within a wall he hadn’t seen before. He lowered the camera quickly away from his face, taking deep breaths to calm his heart.

“What was that?” He saw the door slowly open in front of him. Once he felt calm again, he pushed the door completely open and stepped into a room. He noticed right away the room was one where a corridor aligned the edges of the main part, which looked to be a guest room maybe? He couldn’t say for sure. Yet, he swore he did see someone sitting against one of the walls nearby some see through curtains. He nodded to himself before daring to go along the corridor to the entrance of the room.

His eyes widened when he felt something brush his shoulder from behind him. He turned quickly to see a wall. He blinked a bit and noticed the filament glowing an orange color now. He breathed shakily before aiming the camera at the wall, taking a photo of it. This time, when he lowered the camera, he saw a man peering out to him from inside the wall. “Thank you.” The man whispered before fading away. 

“W…what?” Shiro shook his head as he heard a noise from the part of the area he was trying to get to. He quickly ran over there and saw what looked like a wooden doll of some sort burning on the floor. He watched it disintegrate into dust and none of the flames spread outside of that spot. The sight was really odd considering he swore the fire was blue, and he hadn’t seen those just randomly pop up like that. “…I think I am almost wishing for the old nightmares back. Cause at least they made sense.” But right now, he couldn’t focus on that.

He stood up and looked over at the woman now across from him. She stayed leaned up against the wall with her arms around her knees. With her face down, he couldn’t see much of her features. He headed over towards her. The closer he got, the more he could hear her mumbling. Unfortunately, he could only pick up on some of the words she said.

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean…wake up…” The woman kept mumbling and Shiro frowned.

“Veronica? Is that you?” He called out to her, crouching down in front of her. “I know we haven’t met before, but I know someone that knows your brother…” He lowered himself completely onto the floor and crossed his legs Indian style. “If there’s anything you can tell me about this place, please. I need to know.” He asked while faintly smiling in an attempt to appear friendly.

He tensed when the woman slowly lifted her head up. Realizing for sure now he was staring at the woman who was in the photo caused him to swallow. How could he have dreamt of this person yet never saw her before? Did that really mean these nightmares weren’t…

“Help me.” She stared into Shiro’s eyes. “Wake me up, and I’ll tell you everything I know.” She placed her hand on top of Shiro’s shoulder. “But, what I do know is that you must never allow yourself to keep sleeping. No matter how strong the pull might get to sleep all the day away…” She leaned forward, placing her mouth nearby his ear.

“Or else you’ll end up like me, unable to wake myself up at all from this endless nightmare.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I saw her in my nightmare last night.” Shiro drank some of his coffee. “I don’t know why I’m dreaming about her. But, if there is anything you can tell me about her, I would appreciate it.” He asked while placing the coffee cup down. He looked across the table at the guy with short brown hair and dark blue eyes. Shiro could definitely see the resemblance between the two. 

It had been a miracle honestly that Keith could set up the meeting on such short notice. Apparently, Lance owed Keith for something and the debt would be paid if Lance dropped his plans for the impromptu gathering. While Shiro sound himself feeling a bit tense sitting at a café when he rarely left home on non-business ventures, he did his best to keep a smile on his face. No need for Lance to feel like he was the reason Shiro wanted to run back home as soon as possible. 

“So, you’re telling me my sister is somehow in your nightmares?” Lance asked while crossing his arms over his chest. “How do I know you aren’t just playing me right now? She was in that plane crash a few weeks back and you could just be imagining her, not actually speaking with her.” He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Keith. “Hell, I’m only here because of Keith and maybe the off chance you have been able to talk with her. Doesn’t mean I believe all this.”

Shiro sighed softly while looking over at Keith. Keith shrugged, punching Lance in the shoulder. “I wouldn’t have brought you someone I thought would just play with you like that. You should know better than that.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Well mullet, it wouldn’t be the first time our senses of humor didn’t quite line up.”

“Okay. Not in the mood.” Shiro quickly interrupted when he saw Keith glaring now at Lance. “Listen. She told me to wake her up because she can’t get herself to wake up…is she in a coma or something?”

Lance tensed, and his eyes widened. “Y…yeah, its’ like she’s in one.” He frowned while looking down at the table. “She has no injuries or anything that they believed should have led her to start sleeping for days on end like this. She can even still breathe on her own and all which is the weird part.” Lance frowned more. “They said it really is like she’s just sleeping her life away.”

Shiro nodded while frowning himself now. “I’m sorry your family is dealing with this. I truly do believe she would be awake right now if she could.” He moved his hand towards Lance and offered it out for him to shake. “And I know I want answers, but I really do want to help her too. If we can save her…I want to do what I can to accomplish that.”

Lance looked over at Keith before huffing a bit. “Geez. I just hope I’m not getting dragged into some weird shit.” He gripped Shiro’s hand and shook it. “Now, I’ll take you to her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All three of them stood around the hospital bed. Shiro looked down at Veronica who really did look like she was sleeping. He even tried, knowing it likely wouldn’t work, to shake her gently. But, it was as if her body no longer registered outside stimuli. He asked Lance about it after he poked her side. “Yeah, they tried putting her hands in ice and all those old tricks to wake up people. None of its’ worked.”

Shiro scratched his chin slightly. How was he to wake her up then? He sighed softly and looked over at Lance. “I may have to try and go back into the nightmares to see if there is an answer in them. I just…don’t know what I can do here.” He hated admitting that. But, it’s not like she told him how to. Probably because she didn’t know how to either. It didn’t help that she looked sickly, as if she was already on death’s door. He furrowed his eyebrows when he swore he saw something move along her neck. 

“…It’s too late.” Shiro blinked at Keith’s whispered words. 

“Keith?” He looked over at Keith and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Hey, what are you talking about-”

“VERONICA?!” Shiro tensed at hearing Lance yell at the top of his lungs. Shiro turned quickly around to see a blue looking tattoo spreading across her face. His eyes widened, and he took a step back, finding him gripping Keith’s arm tightly. He watched as Veronica’s eyes opened wide with lines spreading to her pupils. 

“…She’s gone.” Keith whispered again and Shiro noticed this time that Keith’s eyes appeared blurry, almost out of it. As if he was focused on something neither he or Lance could see. He looked back over just in time to see a soot imprint where Veronica’s body was. He swallowed as he saw Lance grip onto the sheets and move his fingers along where his sister’s body had been.

“What…where…how?” Lance sounded like he couldn’t get any of his statements straight. Shiro couldn’t blame him.

“I’m sorry.” Was all Shiro could bring himself to say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he went back to sleep that next night, Shiro knew tomorrow would be hard for him. They all agreed to allow Lance to help which meant to explain to him the nightmares and how they seemed connected to a place he had visited. But, he wasn’t looking forward to helping someone through their grief when he still struggled with his own. 

How was he to help Lance when he still felt empty from the loss of Adam?

He pushed the concern to the back of his mind as he found himself again in the mansion. This time, he walked with purpose, trying to find his way back to the room he saw Veronica last. He made it there pretty quickly which made him wonder if that was a good or bad thing. He stepped in there only to see no one in there. But this time, he saw the closet door was open. He slowly approached the closet door. Then, he opened it. Instead, all he saw was a doll.

He shrugged slightly, taking a few steps back while moving his flashlight. His eyes widened at seeing Veronica just appearing where she had sat before as if she had just materialized there. “Veronica?” He swallowed and slowly reached his hand out to her. 

“Stay back!” Veronica yelled and Shiro saw multiple shadows around her with masks on their faces. He quickly moved back. The masked shadows turned towards him, starting to float in his direction. He raised his camera, taking photos of the ghosts and watched them be pushed back with each flash. One by one, the ghosts faded into nothingness. He sighed in relief once he saw no more of them. “Veronica, it’s safe now.” He said just as she disappeared and then reappeared in front of him.

“You’re not like me.” She gripped his arm and Shiro pulled back at the pain he felt. “You couldn’t save me…” She glared while Shiro noticed her whole skin covered in tattoos now. “Now, I’ll make you like me.” 

Shiro’s eyes widened. “Veronica! Please! Snap out of it!” He tried calling to her as he moved about the room, avoiding her hits. Only when he found himself in a corner and her approaching did he raise the camera. When he saw the symbols glow, his heart dropped to his chest.

“I’m sorry Lance…” He said just as he took the photo of Veronica and heard her yell.

And when he woke up from the nightmare with the tattoo looking bruise spreading across his shoulder blades and the sight of what looked like Veronica gripping his arm, he swore he deserved it all for not being able to save even a single life from whatever was cursing them all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Lance vows to not let anyone else suffer the same fate as his sister, Shiro encounters something in his own home that will shake him to his core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I had intended to try and keep the story as one chapter = one night, it did not end up happening. I decided to focus on some of the antics of the world outside of dreams since I think Fatal Frame 3 really shined in the blur between dream and reality. Thank you all for your continued interest! 
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: January 24th, 2019

When Lance came by the place, the whites of his eyes red from tears, Shiro couldn’t bring himself to deny the guy. He had lost one of his siblings without any plausible explanation. Shiro had seen the online articles about “the woman who vanished into ash”. The news spread like wildfire and didn’t allow Lance and his family to truly grieve with all the reporters bugging them. So, he forced back the desire to hid away from anyone that wasn’t Matt, Pidge, or even Keith and let Lance stay as long as he wanted.

“Here Shiro.” Lance handed him a notebook once Pidge had heated up some of the soup Shiro had made the other night for Lance to eat. “Veronica liked to keep a log as she called it, but the rest of us called it her diary.” The poor man tried to grin and make his tone jovial. But, Shiro knew a faker when he saw it. He saw the biggest faker of them all every time he looked in the mirror. “I don’t know if it will help you all. But I thought it might since in her last entries, she started writing about a manor in her dreams.”

Shiro slowly took the notebook from his hands. “You sure about this?” Was it right of him to look through the personal thoughts of the woman he hadn’t been able to save?

Lance smiled faintly, a bit more genuine than his previous attempt. “Yeah, I just want answers to what happened to her, and I sure as hell am not going to allow what happened to her to happen again.”

“Thanks Lance.” Shiro smiled and placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze. “Just promise me you will not visit the actual manor. We need to make sure no more people are dragged into this mess.” His smile faded at the conflicted look in Lance’s face. “I know you want your answers. But, I don’t feel comfortable putting anyone in danger now that we know this place could honestly affect people outside the dream world.”

Hearing Lance huff loudly reminded him of a certain violet eyed man he knew that could look just as annoyed when denied something he wanted. “Finnnne. Just know I’m not leaving until the fat lady sings!”

Shiro chuckled very faintly at that. “Riighhtt…” He shook his head and sat down in his lounge chair. “With me needing that image out of my mind, I will see about these entries you were talking about.”

Slowly, he opened the notebook, taking care not to cause any tears in the pages. He glanced only briefly at the dates on the entries and not the contents. That is, until he arrived at an entry dated a few days after the crash.

_8/13_

_You can never truly say you know what it is like to a see a gruesome death until you see it in person. Until you can see the mangled bodies with missing limbs and parts of their skin ripped cleanly off to show muscle. I remember laughing at Lance for finding such disgusting in movies and told him it was only makeup and CG. Never real. But, now I know how it can be not a laughing matter. To my brother, he must have felt like he was actually seeing real live people instead of people dolled up to look that way. When you’re unable to convince yourself logically that what you are seeing is an illusion, it hits you like a ten-ton brick. The smell of burning flesh is the worst though. I swear the smell still lingers in my nostrils._

_They said I was lucky to come out of the crash with only some injuries. They said I should be able to leave the hospital soon. I just wish to be able to be with my family again. At least the doctors allowed my family to visit and my one sister got my log for me. I think writing will help me cope with this unexpected tragedy._

_And maybe help me deal with my odd dreams. For ever since the crash, I’ve dreamt of an abandoned manor covered in snow. I find myself heading closer and closer to its entrance as if drawn by something._

_But to what, I’m not sure and have a feeling I should never find out._

“Veronica…” Shiro muttered to himself and carefully turned the page. 

_8/18_

_I entered the manor and now every time I sleep I’m inside it. I never dream of flying in space or working on a new engineering project. I don’t even have my usual nightmares of dying in that crash or failing to fulfill my dreams. Instead, my dreams are consumed by that manor. I am starting to wonder if I should bring up to my doctor or one of the nurses about the strangeness of dreaming seemingly the same thing over and over again._

_Or how I woke up today with a sharp pain in my arm and swore there was a tattoo there that couldn’t be there. After all, the tattoo I have is on my shoulder blades not my right arm. But, I swore I saw it, and it reminded me of the woman I saw in my dream last night._

_The woman covered in the blue tattoos._

“Lance!” He called out and caused Lance to jump. He hadn’t realized the guy had turned on the TV until he heard the faint murmurings of people coming from the sound system. 

“Woah got to learn how to not spook people.” Lance teased slightly before blinking. “Found something I’m guessing?”

Shiro nodded, motioning for Lance to come over. “Your sister mentioned here a woman covered with tattoos. I’ve also seen that woman.” He frowned and glanced towards the glass doors leading out to the backyard. “After encountering her, I too have experienced sharp pains and even seen a tattoo spread along my skin. Yet…” He placed his hand on his right shoulder, what remained of the flesh part of his arm anyway. “When I look in the mirror, I don’t see anything there.”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. “I think the last visit I had with her, before she slipped into a coma, she asked me to look at her right arm and see if I saw anything odd. I just thought maybe she was worried about scars or something. I told her I saw nothing, and she frowned at that.” He frowned before gritting his teeth. “I should have pushed her to answer me honestly when I asked instead of accepting her answer of nothing! I could tell she was bluffing!”

“Lance!” Shiro gripped Lance’s arm and frowned. “You couldn’t have known. How could you have? All of this sounds like crazy to most people.” He gently let of the arm once Lance didn’t look like he was going to flail about the room with his nails out like claws. “I’m just sorry we didn’t figure out her connection to this sooner.”

“I don’t blame you.” Lance quickly said. “I don’t blame any of you. I’m just glad Keith made me come with him to meet you. Cause if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t even have had the chance to get answers.”

Shiro smiled warmly. “Yeah, Keith is a good guy, even now.”

“So, wait, he wasn’t bluffing when he said you two knew each other a long time ago?” Lance blinked and raised an eyebrow. “Just thought he was messing with me or was just telling me that to make me a bit more willing to go with him.”

Shiro’s smile remained warm as an image of a much younger Keith smiling at him and-He stiffened and placed the notebook down on the table.

“Shiro?” Lance took a step back when Shiro quickly stood up from his chair.

“Sorry, I think I’ll go see if the Camera Obscura has anymore photos in it. I’ll come back to finish reading the rest of her logs later.” Shiro went up the stairs as if darting away from someone or something.

“Woah, what’s his problem all of a sudden?” Lance shook his head and shrugged. “Guess it’s just me and you.” He sat back down on the couch, gripping the notebook in his hand. “But, I’ll let him have a chance to finish what he started before looking at you myself.” He put the notebook down and focused his gaze back on the TV, gripping the soup bowl and eating the soup. 

Because he wasn’t sure right now if he was willing to see what could have been his sister’s last words before she found herself unexpectedly disappearing from the living world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once he had calmed himself down after many hours and no longer found his neck feeling pressure around it, Shiro came back down the stairs. The Camera Obscura did not have any new pictures in it. But, he checked it every day just to make sure. He walked back past the Lance sleeping on the couch. When he saw Lance gripping the notebook to his chest, Shiro figured he could finish the log later. He figured Pidge was asleep in her room and Matt in Adam’s old room as well so no need to disturb them

He might as well work on developing photos since he didn’t want to go to sleep just yet, knowing he would wake up in that manor most likely. When he entered the hallway to head towards the dark room, he stiffened at hearing the floor creaking. 

It just had to be normal house related noises, right? He shook his head and walked down the hallway. At seeing something move out of the corner of his eye, he quickly turned himself. “Oh Kuro. You scared me!” He smiled at seeing the Savannah cat come towards him and meow lowly. “Good boy.” He scratched behind the cat’s ears. He still recalled when he and Adam had gotten Kuro as a kitten early in their relationship. He just sometimes wished he hadn’t named the cat Kuro since it was so close to _his_ name…

“You want to come with me to the dark room?” He smiled and allowed himself to peer further into the room. He blinked at seeing someone in front of the memorial shrine. “Keith is that you?” He blinked when the person didn’t respond at all. “Keith?” It looked like Keith from the back with the dark brown hair. But, as he stepped into the room, he noticed the body wasn’t quite right for Keith’s figure and Keith never sat cross legged to save his life (That was Shiro’s thing as Keith used to joke in their childhood days).

“Who are you? What are you doing in my house?” Shiro’s voice rose with his lips shifting into a frown and his eyes narrowing into a glare. “Get out!” 

“Shiro?” He gasped and quickly turned away from the room. He blinked at seeing Keith standing right there. Keith had been staying here as well since he agreed to help. Shiro’s cheeks reddened slightly at the sight of Keith in just his boxers and his hair slightly damp, likely from a shower. The sight of him holding Red in his arms though did warm his heart. Yet, not enough to still the dominant emotion conquering his mind right now. 

“Y-yeah?” He stuttered out and didn’t mean to do that. How embarrassing.

“You alright? Do I need to kick someone’s ass?” Keith asked with a concern lacing his every word and a scowl on his face. The fact Red hissed as if agreeing with Keith almost made Shiro chuckle. Almost.

Shiro turned his head back towards the memorial shrine room. His eyes widened when the person had turned around and he could see now their figure was completely see through. Their old-style kimono made him realize it was one of the ghosts from the manor. But how? Why was he seeing one of them here? He swallowed and felt a warm hand gently squeeze his shoulder.

“Shiro, talk to me. Is someone there?” Keith tried to sound reassuring, but Shiro couldn’t stop his heart from racing or his palms from sweating. Let alone break his gaze from the ghost slowly walking, more like floating, towards them. 

“Keith…can you see it?” He finally dared to ask. “Am I losing my mind?”

He watched out of the corner of his eye and saw Keith turn his head. 

His heart stopped briefly when he saw Keith’s eyes faintly widen. Just the slightest hint that maybe, Keith was seeing the same thing.

“…It’s spreading.” Keith frowned while holding Red a bit closer to his chest. “It won’t stop until we stop it.”

Shiro turned to face Keith. Once again, Keith had that blurry look like at the hospital. It was like for a moment, Keith was not truly there. His chest clenched, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Keith’s shoulder, careful not to crush Keith and the kitten to his chest. “We will stop it. I swear.” He pulled back just enough to see Keith’s eyes once more looking vibrant like galaxies.

“Yeah, we will.” Keith smiled faintly and hugged Shiro back with one arm, holding the kitten in the other. “I swear it.” 

Shiro looked briefly to see the ghost had disappeared. Yet, the feeling of something having literally entered his house without his permission shook him to his core. He tightened his hold on Keith just a bit and buried his face into Keith’s hair.

If only just for a moment, he needed to believe things would be okay.

Or else he might give into the fear that things would never be normal or okay ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro catches sight of someone he didn't expect to see again and has to come face to face with the fact things really are only going to get worse from here, especially if a certain someone from his past has any say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published on Fanfiction.net: February 20th, 2019

Honestly, the more he roamed about the old mansion, the more he came to realize there were plenty of spirits in this place. But, most of the spirits appeared to be from the time period of the manor itself. Wearing kimonos, yukatas, and other outfits that reminded him of what his grandparents and their parents before him wore for regular outfits. He only recalled wearing such in his younger years for ceremonies and other special occasions. 

Did that mean these spirits were as old as the manor itself? Could these ghosts have been in torment for a couple of centuries if not longer? He swallowed as he lowered his camera, sending yet another spirit to rest. At least, he hoped each time he took their photo he wasn’t having to hear their pained screams for nothing. And if the specters had been trapped in this place for that long, they deserved a chance to rest. 

Though, with how he sometimes still encountered Veronica after their first fight, his heart sank at the likely possibility his camera did nothing to help any of the lost souls here. If he wasn’t careful, he could end up here along with them. Permanently. 

As he stepped into a courtyard, his mind shifted focus.

He blinked slowly at the snow coming down from the sky always dark and cloudy. He noticed the gravestones off to the side with lit candles in front of them. He furrowed his eyebrows as he recalled something that had happened prior to when the nightmares started.

_Shiro walked about the ruins of a manor. Pidge was walking a few feet away from him, examining some of the broken wooden beams. “Really does look like an earthquake or something caused this place to collapse.” He heard her say, watching her stand up out of the corner of his eye. “Either that or bad planning.”_

_“You know what the locals said.” He decided to remind her with a faint frown. “They said something bad happened here that caused the place to be abandoned and left to ruin like this.”_

_Pidge huffed slightly. “Yeah, but none of them would tell us what the bad thing was. So, it still could have been exactly the stuff I said.”_

_Shiro shrugged slightly as he went down a hallway that was still intact. “True.” He called out to her before proceeding down the hallway a bit. He stopped though at seeing someone standing at the end of the L-shaped hallway. “Who’s there?” He asked while leaning a bit to see if he could get a better view. Unfortunately, he wished he hadn’t._

_His heart clenched, and his eyes stung a bit. “A-Adam?” He knew he shouldn’t be seeing Adam right now. But, he knew it wasn’t impossible. Not anymore. That place now covered in water taught him that along with taking away his-_

_“Adam!” He called out as Adam turned away and headed down the hallway. He rushed after him, only to feel his mind become foggy. He closed his eyes, shaking his head a bit. Only when the fog cleared did he open his eyes. He looked about and realized he was no longer in the hallway. Instead, he was in a courtyard with snow coming down from the sky._

_With gravestones on his right trying to raise up to the sky and candles lighting the way to the door on the other side._

“Is this really the same place?” Shiro slowly walked the path. It was like his daydream had been transplanted into the manor itself. Then again maybe that daydream, which Pidge shook him out of, was his first glimpse of the manor that would soon plague his sleep. He couldn’t be sure. But, when he woke up, he would need to bring it up with Pidge and the others, especially Matt and Keith. Because for all he knew, maybe the two had experienced the daydream like he had.

If it was exactly like his dream, then when he opened the door he should see a place with a fireplace and a second-floor loft to it. Instead, when he got to the door and unlocked it with a key he found, the room in front of him was not that one. 

He was in some entrance room with a hallway in front of him that looked to be cross shaped. Before he could really figure out more about the new room he found himself in, he saw someone some feet ahead of him.

Shiro’s eyes widened. He swore his heart stopped, though he knew realistically it hadn’t. Just his breath had left his lungs entirely at the person walking down the hallway in front of him. Even though he could not see their face, he recognized that tanned skin and dirty blonde hair anyway. He swore he even saw the edges of the black glasses the man always wore. 

“Adam…” Shiro whispered and tried to follow his late fiancé. But, just as he got close enough that he swore his fingers, outstretched, could brush Adam’s back, a white light completely blinded him, and he could no longer register anything.

As if he had been knocked out within his own nightmare, deprived of having some any sort of true closure. Just his luck. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shiro woke up with his eyes wide and panting loudly, catching his breath. He sat up quickly before swallowing. “Adam.” He muttered the name with a frown slowly forming on his face. “Are you somehow there too?” He asked yet prayed that he had only been seeing things. For while he wished he could get the chance to talk to Adam just one more time, he did not desire for Adam to somehow be stuck in that place after his death. 

He gritted his teeth as sharp pains radiated from his right shoulder. He didn’t dare to glance over his shoulder. Somehow, he just knew it was the tattoo spreading across his shoulder blades. Even if he decided to look, it would only remind him of his limited time. What time he had left until he too became like Veronica. 

Once the pain stopped, he got out of the bed and changed into grey sweatpants and a black tank top. He didn’t plan on going out today. 

He opened his bedroom door and blinked at a bunch of racket from downstairs. 

“Lance! Give me back my bacon!” Keith yelled and Shiro found himself moving to look over the railing to see what in the world was going on. 

He saw Lance holding pieces of bacon up in the air while standing on the back of the couch. How Lance was balancing and not falling over presently was beyond him. 

“No mullet! You had to eat all the eggs! So, I’m going to have the last bit of bacon!” Lance glared down while Shiro saw Matt facepalming and Pidge rolling her eyes. 

“Ugh. So immature.” Pidge complained loudly with a faint smirk on her face. Shiro saw Lance and Keith turn their heads at about the same time and glare at her.

“No, we aren’t!” They said at the same time and then glared at each other. 

“Don’t be copying me, mullet!”

“No, you were copying me!” Keith jabbed his finger into Lance’s chest and grabbed for the bacon. 

Lance lifted his hand higher into the air and stood now on his toes. “You aren’t getting-ACK!” 

Shiro tensed at Lance falling off the couch and hitting the floor. 

Even though Pidge, Matt, and Keith laughed loudly, Shiro frowned and stared down at Lance. “You alright, Lance? Do you need any ice or anything?” He couldn’t hide his concern as Lance sat up and looked up at him.

“At least someone has manners!” Lance pointed up at Shiro before grinning. “Naw, I’ll be fine. I’m used to rough housing with my siblings. I’ll live.” 

“I’m surprised you didn’t take that as a chance to complain and play kiss up.” Keith teased, and Lance glared at him.

“Really Keith? Not cool man!”

Shiro chuckled softly as the two went back to arguing.

The sight was a welcome distraction from what he had seen. Yet, when he saw Pidge looking at him and pointed between him and her before making a phone sign with her thumb and finger, her usual gesture for needing to talk, he knew there was no way to completely forget their circumstances for long. Not as long as his life and other lives were at stake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, what did you find exactly?” Shiro asked while sitting on Pidge’s bed. He saw Pidge sitting at her desk, shaking her head.

“Well, not much, but I think I got a lead to follow up on.” Pidge turned in her seat to face Shiro. “You know how we said, after what happened to Veronica, that there were likely others having the nightmares? Well, apparently, there were rumors about that hospital about lost patients.” 

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “Lost patients? Like literally lost?”

Pidge huffed loudly. “No Shiro, pretty sure the hospital would look quite bad if they couldn’t find literally lost patients.” She grabbed something off her desk and Shiro noticed it was a notebook. “These patients were called lost because they would start sleeping most the day and become unresponsive. And when they did briefly wake up, they would start humming some lullaby none of the staff recognized.” Pidge opened the notebook and flipped through it. “Till eventually they couldn’t be awoken at all.”

“Like Veronica.” Shiro frowned before blinking. “Though wait, they all hummed some sort of lullaby?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to figure out more details on that. Seems odd they would be doing that. Have you caught yourself humming anything when you first wake up?”

Shiro furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head. “Not that I recall.”

“Well, I’ll still look at it just in case. Lance did say he thought he heard Veronica once in the few days before her death humming something. But, he couldn’t recall the notes or anything.” She poked a page within her notebook slightly. “I’m hoping I can find a staff member that maybe recorded the lullaby and see if they’ll let me have it.”

Shiro smiled faintly. “Always one step ahead, Pidge. Couldn’t ask for a better assistant.” He stood up from the bed and headed towards the door.

“Though Shiro?” Shiro blinked at Pidge’s hesitant tone.

“Yeah Pidge? Something the matter?” He frowned and noticed she was frowning too.

“Yeah…there’s another reason I am looking into this whole lullaby thing.” She looked at Shiro and placed the notebook back on her desk. “I went to wake up Matt when he stayed over the other night…and I swore I heard him humming a lullaby I didn’t recognize.”

Shiro’s eyes widened and quickly tried to compose himself. “Pidge, I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just heard it on the radio or something.” 

Pidge scowled slightly. “Shiro, don’t. I don’t need false comfort. We both know what it likely means.”

Shiro headed towards her. “Pidge.” He leaned over once close enough and pulled her into a hug. “I swear nothing will happen to Matt, promise.” He said against her hair, letting her tremble and cling onto him.

While he couldn’t be sure how realistic it would be to promise such, he found himself not caring. He had to keep Matt safe. He had to keep everyone he cared about safe. 

He wasn’t sure he could handle the loss of yet another person. As he held her and did his best to not let his heart break at her quiet sobs, he shivered slightly. It was as if someone had placed their cold hand briefly on his shoulder. He swallowed and looked over his shoulder. His skin paled at the sight of an identical face peering at him.

“You should know not to make promises you can’t keep, Takashi.” The ghost smirked a bit before disappearing.

Shiro’s heart raced, thumping loudly in his chest.

He found himself gripping onto Pidge tighter, grateful she didn’t flinch or comment on it. 

For not only was he sure he couldn’t handle another loss, but he was sure a certain someone wouldn’t mind if he lost everything after what he had to do to survive. And honestly, Shiro couldn’t blame him one bit for his hatred. Just why now did he have to haunt him again, or was it the manor’s doing that Shiro was seeing him again? He didn’t want to question it right now.

He needed to be there for Pidge and the others. He needed to make sure Matt stayed alive. He needed to see if Adam truly was in the manor. He needed to be strong for everyone. 

Yet on the inside, he found his heart breaking and barely holding on to a semblance of a not broken person. All because everything hung on a delicate balance with no way of knowing if any of them were going to make it out alive. And for someone like him to admit that was hard and only made the pain inside him worsen. 

The pain of knowing he could easily fail and find himself terribly and utterly alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro seems to keep finding more and more reason that he needs to break the curse, including realizing another person is being affected by the curse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness of this! Been busy with life and the person who normally looks over my stuff is not well. So, had to choose between keeping my word on monthly updates and waiting for them to get better. I choose to publish this chapter, but it may be edited if the person comes back to me with things they need to be changed. So, heads up. I will put in the chapter notes if it has been edited. If that note is not there, then assume it didn't need edits. Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: March 30th, 2019

“Adam!” Shiro called out and raced towards the door. The double doors slammed shut in front of him, only catching a glimpse of his late fiancée. He punched the door, cringing at the pain that went through his hand and up his arm. He gritted his teeth while glaring at the door. “Outside of this dream I would have punched a hole through that door.” He grumbled before backing away from the door. “I’ll just have to figure out what the manor wants me to do to get in there.”

He stepped away before turning to face the atrium with the tree and the skewered red dolls all around it. He sighed and walked around the tree. Just as he neared one of the hallways extending from the atrium, he heard a child singing. 

“Hello?” He blinked and headed down the hallway. He found a door that reached his waist, causing him to have to crouch down to get through the doorway. He blinked at the room with all the walls covered in dolls nailed to them. “I think I might grow an aversion to dolls after this.” Once he adjusted to that aspect of the room, he looked towards the table to see what looked like a mini shrine.

Before he could approach it though, he saw a little girl in a shrine maiden dress. He took a step back upon realizing she was transparent. “Oh no. There are ghosts of children here too?” His heart plummeted at that. 

Unfortunately, when the girl started to attack him, he had no choice but to raise his camera and fight her like all the other ghosts. She was tricky in that she sometimes disappeared only to appear at his feet and tried to literally stake his feet! He had to quickly move around at that, grateful for his reflexes. It didn’t take long before he found her disappearing but likely not bested. 

The room started to spin as many voices started to sing the tune the girl had sung. The music became faint to his ears though, barely able to make out anything of it except parts of it.

“Sle…tess…in…ace.” 

And then he saw and heard no more. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He hated how each morning now, he had to prepare himself for the sharp pain across his shoulders. While he was used to phantom pain that could take the breath out of him, he was not used to a pain that spread across his body and felt like someone stabbing millions of needles into his skin at once. Maybe that was what an extreme version of acupuncture would feel like. He didn’t want to know after this. 

After the pain stopped, Shiro got out of bed. He got himself ready and opened the door. He peaked around the corner to Pidge’s room door. The door was still shut. A faint frown showed on his face. “I hope she’s alright.” He stepped out of his room, shutting the door behind him. Usually, Pidge left the door open when she was up. So, for it to be shut, that meant somehow, he had gotten up before Pidge.

It had been a long time since that happened.

His body tensed at hearing loud snoring. He quickly turned towards Adam’s old room. Just as Shiro felt his heart start to race, his mind recalled that Adam never snored. He took deep breaths to calm his heart and walked slowly towards old room. But, it wasn’t easy to keep his heart from going out of control or his stomach from turning. Just nearing the room brought him into a state of panic.

He hadn’t dared enter the room since Adam died. Yet, here he was, finding himself too curious and needing to know who in the world had decided to sleep in the abandoned pristine bedroom. His breathing became more like panting as he gripped the door frame and slowly entered the room. He walked in just enough to see the bed.

“Really?” Shiro groaned softly at seeing Matt lying on the bed. He figured it would have been Lance that would have done that! Only because he wasn’t sure Lance had been told about Adam or not. Yet, there was Matt, snoring and all spread out across the bed. “You’re just lucky you’re my best friend.” He narrowed his eyes before quickly leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

Right after shutting the door, he face-palmed. “Damn. That probably would have been a good time to talk with him about-” He stopped himself at hearing faint singing. 

He blinked a bit and walked down the hallway towards the railing. He peered over it to see Keith standing in front of the sliding glass door to the backyard. The singing seemed to be coming from Keith, but he couldn’t make out the words from where he stood. Maybe Keith wasn’t even singing words for all he knew. 

Slowly, Shiro walked down the stairs. His gaze remained on Keith as he soon could make out the words once he was halfway down the stairs. 

“Sleep, Priestess. Lie in Peace.”

Where had he heard the words before? Shiro furrowed his eyebrows and slowly approached Keith. “Keith?” When Keith didn’t respond to him and kept singing, Shiro reached his hand out towards Keith. Gently, he placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder, giving the shoulder a squeeze. He tensed when Keith slightly jumped. But, Keith quickly relaxed and the two locked eyes.

“Yes Shiro?” Keith asked as if he hadn’t been singing just a few moments ago.

“Um…” Shiro removed his hand from Keith’s shoulder and swallowed. “I haven’t heard that tune before. Where did you hear it from?”

Shiro watched Keith blink a bit before tensing, even more than before, and paling a bit. 

“Keith?” Shiro called out again, noticing Keith slowly relaxing but still not looking all that comfortable. He stared at the other and put a small smile on his face. “I’m here for you, alright?” It felt natural to say that even after all the years since they last saw each other. 

_“Takashi!” He blinked and turned to see Keith running towards him. His eyes widened at seeing Keith’s eyes watery and tears pouring down his face._

_“Keith! What’s wrong?” Shiro quickly wrapped his arms around the younger boy once Keith was close enough._

_“My dad! He…he…he died saving trying to save a little girl!” Keith cried out and hugged Shiro tightly. “Now I’m all alone!”_

_Shiro shook his head, nuzzling the top of Keith’s head. “No, you are not alone. You got me and Kuron.” He kissed the top of Keith’s head. “I’m here for you. Always."_

“I know.” Keith responded in a quick almost distracted way. 

Shiro snapped out of his reverie at that, a frown on his face. “Hey, I know I didn’t keep to my word and I should have-” He cut himself off at Keith gripping his shoulder.

“No, it has nothing to do with that.” Keith kept the hand there. “I just didn’t want to let you know. But, I guess it’s getting harder to hide it.”

Shiro blinked slightly. “Hide what?”

Keith turned to face him and gripped his shirt.

“Uh, Keith?” Shiro only had enough time to say that before Keith quickly took off his shirt.

Shiro’s cheeks faintly reddened and he shook his head. 

“You might not be able to see it readily. But, it’s there.” Keith pointed to his back. “A tattoo like yours.”

Shiro’s eyes widened, quickly moving to stand behind Keith. Keith’s back looked toned and lean. He could easily trail the spine and the shoulder blades if he wanted to. But, he kept his hands to himself, using the lighting to see if he could see anything. As he furrowed his eyebrows and leaned forward slightly, he caught a brief glimpse of red decorative markings across Keith’s shoulders and back. Before he could see what the markings really looked like, the markings disappeared.

“Keith…” Shiro swallowed while feeling his chest clench. He watched Keith put back on the shirt.

“The lyrics I think are from a lullaby those shrine maiden girls sing.” Keith said abruptly, leaving no room for Shiro to say anything else. “I can’t say for sure. I just sometimes wake up singing it. At first, it was just the notes. Now I’m recalling the words while awake too.”

Shiro nodded slowly and took a deep breath to ease the clenching in his chest. “Pidge mentioned hearing Matt humming a tune. She thinks it’s the lullaby the other victims of the curse tended to hum or sing.” Shiro saw Keith looking at him over his shoulder. “You think it’s the same one?”

He saw Keith narrowing his eyes slightly. “I’m going to assume so. But, I had no idea Matt might be caught up in the manor too.” Shiro heard Keith sigh softly. “Maybe it’s due to what happened to Sam.” 

Shiro frowned, looking off to the side. “I hadn’t even thought about that.” 

In all the chaos in the aftermath of Adam’s death, Shiro realized he focused more so on himself than on how Matt and Pidge had to deal with the loss of their father. It had only been a few months before Adam died that Sam Holt had disappeared while checking out a different abandoned mansion. Unfortunately, his body was found with arms, legs, and head missing. They had only been able to identify him based on some personal belongings found nearby and some birth marks. 

No wonder Matt might be haunted by the desire to see his father again. Pidge might be too. He swallowed and felt nauseous at the idea Pidge might start having the dreams too, if she hadn’t already. He had taken her to that place after all. If he had caused his best friend’s sister to suffer along with them…

“Shiro.” Keith looked at him. “Don’t blame yourself. You’ve been through a lot lately.” 

He swore Keith had a talent for knowing when to not let his mind drown in thought. “Right. I just don’t want to see the people I care about suffer, you know?” Shiro mentioned, catching a glimpse of Keith smiling at him in the process.

“I know. In some ways, you really haven’t changed.” Keith smiled more and Shiro found himself smiling as well. Shiro lifted his arm slowly towards Keith’s cheek.

“EEEKKK! LEEGGGSS!” 

Both Keith and Shiro jumped a bit, quickly turning to see Lance backing quickly away from the closet nearby the kitchen. “I swore I saw legs! What the world?!” 

Shiro groaned slightly, rubbing at his temple. He caught Keith rolling his eyes out of the corner of his eye. A small chuckled escaped his lips. “Let’s just hope that was Lance seeing things.” Shiro heard Keith chuckle as well.

“Yeah, let’s hope.”

Because neither of them could see any legs from where they stood. “Though Lance! Since you probably woke up the whole house, why don’t you fix breakfast? You might as well for doing that!” Keith smirked over at Lance who was pouting.

“I didn’t make it up though! I did see legs! Creepy ghost legs!” Lance pointed to the closet before sighing loudly. “But finnneee! I get to treat you all to a classic Cuban breakfast then! Woohoo!” Lance rushed into the kitchen.

“Should I be scared?” Shiro whispered while glancing at Keith.

“No, he ain’t that bad. Just don’t eat anything you can’t tell what it is, and you’ll be good.” It was hard to tell if Keith was being serious or joking, his tone shifting between the two a little too easily. 

Shiro nodded, figuring that was as good of advice as any. 

“Oh, yesterday, Matt told me he got some tape transcribed for us to listen to. Says it might give us some info on the actual manor as well as the dream manor. We could probably listen to it after breakfast if you want.”

At hearing that, Shiro thanked his lucky stars. Now that would be a good time to talk to Matt about Pidge’s suspicions. “Sounds good.” He said before sitting by the kitchen counter.

He could only hope the conversation would go over well.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro takes the opportunity to talk with Matt, yet ends up remaining clueless to the secrets his best friend and another person are hiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness on this chapter. Experienced a bit of writer's block. But, I did get the update within the month of April! So, proud of myself for that. Since I will be taking a break in the latter half of this coming month, I plan to update this story within a couple of weeks. If I don't, I will double update in June. Also, this chapter contains the first of likely more changes in POV. Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: April 30th, 2019
> 
> P.S. Kudos if you know the context and all of the document I used at the end of the chapter.

After Lance’s Cuban style breakfast (which turned out pretty good in his opinion), Shiro took the chance to go upstairs to the room Matt was using. Lance and Matt kept swapping using Adams’ room. He heard it had something to do with the couch not being the most comfortable…Now wasn’t the time to think about that. As he glanced behind his shoulder to see Keith following him, Pidge’s room door opened on him. 

He tensed just as he found his head barely an inch away from the door. “Oh crap! Sorry!” Pidge shut the door behind her. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Shiro quickly said and smiled at her. “I just wasn’t paying attention.” The smile looked strained slightly at hearing Keith snickering faintly behind him. “How are you doing today?” 

Pidge shrugged. “I’m good. What are you two up to?” 

“Keith mentioned Matt had a tape transcribed for us. We were going to go listen to it.” Shiro looked at Pidge, seeing her furrowing her eyebrows and purse her lips a bit. “Why don’t you come with us?” He put a smile back on his face. “Maybe it will help you with your own research.”

“Yeah sure!” Pidge grinned slightly and all three of them went towards Adam’s room. Shiro swallowed slightly while reaching his hand toward the doorknob. He blinked when a different hand shot out and gripped the doorknob. “I can do it.” Keith’s voice echoed in his ears faintly as he watched Keith open the door. 

_Keith_. Shiro smiled faintly before following Pidge and Keith into the room.

“Oh hey! Bigger posse than I thought! Is Lance going to join in?” Matt asked after turning himself and the chair he was in towards them.

“No, Lance is helping to clean up the dishes. He said to just update him on it later.” Shiro leaned against the wall with the large window. He looked towards the window as Pidge and Keith found their spots within the room. His mind went back to a day when Adam stood in front of the window, the curtains pulled to the sides and showing the gray clouds unleashing rain onto the world.

_“Do you know why rainy days are the days I love the most?” The question from Adam had lingered in his sleep groggy mind. “Because it gives me an excuse to stay in and be with you a bit longer.”_

Shiro blinked slightly at hearing the tape recorder going, snapping himself out of the flashback. Matt read out loud the words from his transcript, though Shiro was able to pick up some of the words from the tape itself. 

“I keep having dreams of the manor. The one covered in snow.” A recorded feminine voice played from the recorder, not meshing well with Matt’s “narration” voice. “I see a funeral procession heading inside the manor. Amongst the procession, I saw her. I saw my fiancé. I called out to her, but it was like she could not hear me. Then, I would wake up.” Shiro frowned while picking up a gurgled male voice. He couldn’t make out the words. Matt must have not been able to either. Then, the woman spoke again. “And each night, I would find myself closer and closer to the manor until last night. I entered the manor and encountered a tattooed woman.” Shiro heard the tape cut off. 

“That’s all I got right now on that tape. Another one I’m working on has a man talking about waking up with a painful tattoo on himself and a third tape that mentions the lullaby. Who knew trying to transcribe and preserve old tapes would be such a pain?” Matt chuckled. “But, I do love myself a challenge.” He grinned now. “I’ll let you know when I got the others done.”

“Right-” Shiro tried to say something, but he stopped himself at seeing Pidge turned towards her brother with a scowl on her face.

“Speaking of that lullaby, I’ve heard you hum that more than once in your sleep! And I gathered information that made it sound like people experiencing the curse sometimes did the same thing.” Pidge’s voice wavered, and her body trembled slightly. “So, are you cursed?” The question was now out in the open. 

Shiro looked over at Keith who was frowning. Did Keith already know the answer, or was Keith worried about someone else being involved in this whole curse issue? 

“Oh crude! I did not mean to worry you like that!” Matt cried out while frowning. “I mean yeah, I could see why you thought that. But see, I’ve just been listening to that song so much I must have started humming it in my sleep!” He outstretched his arms towards them with his palms up. “See? I don’t got any markings!”

Shiro frowned slightly. “Matt, the tattoos aren’t that obvious. They appear and disappear at will. You know that.” He sighed softly. “I want to take your word for it. It would be better for all of us, including you, if you weren’t dealing with the curse as well.” He couldn’t help but feel a bit of tension start in his shoulders. “Because if you are also cursed…” He wrapped his arm around his torso, cradling himself. “I would really feel helpless.”

He tensed more when he felt arms around him. The tension left though upon realizing it was Matt and not some figment of his imagination. “Hey, such a handsome man like me would never get himself cursed!” Of course, Matt somehow found the capability to tease in their situation. “After all, the world still needs my presence.” They both ended up laughing as Matt let go of him.

“Yes, because the world wouldn’t know what to do without you.” Shiro smiled faintly. “I know I wouldn’t. And I’m sure Pidge feels the same.” 

He glanced over at Pidge, seeing a smile on her face. “Yeah, just don’t let it get to your head more than it already has, Matt.” Pidge joked with the smile becoming a grin. “Though seriously, stick to your day job. Your night humming freaks me out.”

Matt pouted slightly. “Hey, the ladies love a good singer.” He joked back and smiled at the three of them. “I’ll come down in a bit and get myself some leftover breakfast. I need to talk to Keith for a few minutes.” 

Shiro raised an eyebrow and looked over at Keith. Keith shrugged. “Yeah, we were looking into something related to the curse. We’re collaborating to make it easier to gather all the information quicker. We’ll tell you about it when we come down.” 

“Alright. See you two in a bit.” Shiro quickly headed out of the room. Hearing the rain start to come down within Adam’s room only reminded him once more of Adam’s smiling face that he would never see again.

He heard the door close behind him, jumping slightly. He looked over his shoulder and felt bad at realizing he forgot Pidge must have followed him out. “I wonder what they are working on?” She tilted her head while walking slightly behind Shiro. “I figured they would have mentioned working on something by now, right?”

“You would think. But, I trust them to know what they are doing.” Shiro turned slightly and ruffled her hair. “Now, let’s go see if Lance needs our help cleaning up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, you lied.” Keith scowled slightly. “You could have just told them the truth.”

Matt sighed loudly. “They would have freaked out and you know it. And like I said, I just started having the dreams. I haven’t had an encounter with the tattooed lady yet. So, as far as “cursed” goes, I didn’t lie. I just didn’t say anything about having the dreams.”

Keith shook his head and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I know. Shiro wasn’t too happy when I told him. But, he caught me humming and all that and well…it felt like the old days a bit.” Keith smiled just barely. “When I couldn’t lie well, and I always felt bad lying to him or Kuron. Then again, maybe it’s just more I’ve gotten better about not feeling guilty.”

“Who knows.” Matt grinned slightly. “But, you have wanted to be close to Shiro again, or should I say Takashi?” The grin grew more, and he laughed at feeling Keith slap his arm. 

“Shut it Matt!” Keith’s cheeks faintly reddened. “This isn’t the time for that. And besides, he’s clearly still chasing after Adam’s ghost. He would need to let go of his heartache before I would have a chance.” Keith frowned more. “Do you think it is because of his grief that he’s cursed now?” 

Matt frowned while working on one of the tapes. “Well, it could be because of Adam. But, it could be because of Kuron too or his parents. He’s had more than one loss in his life. If the loss still lingers inside you like a disease, then I think the Manor and its curse can use that loss against you.” He tapped quickly and gently against the keys of his laptop. “What is scary is that I believe, based on previous accounts, that you don’t have to visit the physical ruined manor to be cursed.”

“So, you’ve been able to confirm that?” Keith scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. “So, couldn’t that mean the curse could spread like a virus? Like in that one horror movie?”

Matt shook his head. “Maybe amongst those with traumatic loss or grief they haven’t dealt with. It could spread amongst them possibly. But, they say not one person handles loss or grief the exact same or even handles it again the same way.” He pointed to a photo nearby the bed of Adam and Shiro. “The way Shiro deals with Adam’s death has been different than how he has dealt with Kuron’s death for example. It’s possible the curse knows which loss will hurt the person the most and uses that one specifically.” 

Keith swallowed. “Like my father.” 

“Yeah, exactly like how the manor uses your father against you.” Matt slid the chair over to the bed the best he could (curse the carpet) and placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Have you seen him lately?”

Keith shook his head. “No, but I’m sure I will soon. Just a feeling.” He clenched and unclenched his fists. “Just like I’m sure I’m due another visit from _her_.”

Matt looked away. “Just be careful alright?” He moved the chair back in front of the desk. “Even with your unique state and all, that doesn’t mean the curse can’t kill you too. And I’m not sure we want to find out what would happen to you if the tattoo covers you like it did Veronica and others before her.” 

“Yeah.” Keith glanced down at one of his hands. “I’m less worried about that though and more so about Shiro. I heard the rumors about what happened to Kuron. I even went back to that place they found Shiro at and where Kuron went missing. It was where we used to play at as kids.” He gripped his shirt slightly right above his heart. “Now it’s covered in water from that dam. But, it felt different than it did back in the past. Like something had been freed…the oppressive feeling no longer there.”

“Does that mean that village really did exist then? The one beyond the stones and all of that?” Keith looked over at Matt and furrowed his eyebrows.

“I can’t be for sure. I never saw it myself. If it did exist though, and clearly the Manor can take images of other places into it…” He frowned, and he looked down at his feet. “Then I’m sure the Manor could bring bits of that village into it as well.

Matt nodded and opened a desk drawer. “We’re lucky Shiro still has issues being in here.” He gripped an old worn book, placing it on the bed with his outstretched arm. “Or else he would find out we’re researching more than just the Manor.” 

Keith gripped the book gently in his hands, slowly opening it. “Yeah.” He took a deep brief and looked at the words inside the book.

_"The gate to hell is called the ✱._  
_Gaze not upon the ✱._  
_Eyes that glimpse the ✱ will be blinded by the ✱._  
_Speak not of the ✱._  
_The mouth which utters ✱ will be made speechless by the ✱._  
_Listen not to the ✱._  
_Those who heed the ✱ are turned heartless by the ✱."_

“And it truly seems like that place had a curse of its own.” Keith muttered while continuing to read the book. All in hopes of preparing himself, and hopefully Shiro, for what else might lie ahead.


	7. Chapter 7 part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He finds himself once again waking up in a place from his past, yet realizes things are not quite what they seem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is the first I've written in a completely different point of view. It's part one of two as I indeed to write in Shiro's point of view about these events next chapter. Hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: May 13th, 2019

“Your father is waiting.” 

“Wake up.”

Slowly, he opened his eyes. Instead of lying on the bed, he realized he was standing straight up. He rubbed at his eyes to clear his vision. His nose became itchy from the strong smell of dust, mold, and rotten wood. After finally getting himself to sneeze, he saw the fallen ceiling beam in front of him and the latticed walls on his left and right. He swallowed and glanced over his shoulder. 

The double wooden doors were once again barricaded. The same entrance he remembered going through all those years ago. His heart dropped to his stomach realizing he was there again. Well, sort of. He turned his back towards the doors and back towards the fallen ceiling beam. From the other times he had been here, he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about more of the ceiling falling onto him. After all, this place before him was not the same as the one he entered in his mid-teens. 

No, it was simply the manor’s attempt to replicate the Himuro Mansion. Yet, like all the other times he had dreamt himself into this place…

“Don’t you wish to see your father?”

“Come this way.”

His body tensed at catching a brief glimpse of tattooed woman standing in front of the hole in the floor. Her mouth didn’t move though. He lifted the flashlight, that had appeared in his hand, and aimed it at the door on the left side of the room. A young girl in a shrine maiden’s outfit stared back at him. “Right this way!” The girl giggled and then disappeared behind the door.

He rolled his eyes slightly. “I really wish they would leave me the hell alone.” 

He walked further into the room, making sure not to fall into the hole that appeared to be swallowed in complete darkness. Once he walked around that bit of destruction, he entered the left side door and saw a familiar hallway. The one with the ropes that hung from the ceiling and ended with a mirror at the t shape crossroad of hallways.

When his flashlight reflected something on the ground in front of the mirror, he scowled. _Well, seems they really want to involve me this time._ While he wished pinching or knocking himself out would wake himself up, he had already tried that previous times. He only woke up when the Manor allowed him to leave. It was annoying. So, he had no other choice but to go down that hallway and pick up the Camera Obscura that looked exactly like the one his father had owned. He swore the camera body had the same indent on the right side from when it took a nasty fall. The Manor did well sometimes at mimicry.

He placed the camera in his bag for now. He tensed again at the tattooed woman appearing in the mirror. This time, he heard no voices though and she disappeared quickly. “Dammit.” He muttered to himself, glaring at the reflective surface. He huffed softly before turning away and headed down the right hallway. He raised an eyebrow when the doorway was locked and boarded up as if forbidding him access. 

Did the Manor not replicate the Manion exactly? He furrowed his eyebrows and went down the other hallway. He opened that door and saw the rows of tatami doors leading to a small shrine. That was the same from years ago. When he got to the shrine though and looked at the other door of the room, he noticed a stone puzzle not on the door before. The Himuro Mansion had puzzles like this and sometimes the Mansion did change on him.

However, he never recalled one whose inscription had a theme of sleep to it.

_“Engrave in the pedestal the same number of pains as are engraved on the sleeping stone.”_

Not like he could do much to solve the puzzle since he was missing one of the stones. He knew that meant he had to go all the way back to the entrance and see if he could get into the other room. The one that hadn’t opened for him until he had a mask. Guess he would have to find some mask first.

As he headed back to the door he came in from, he heard loud noises behind him. He turned quickly and took out the Camera. He gritted his teeth at having to jump back to avoid a hatchet blow from a ghost. “Now how in the hell are you here?” He frowned and raised the camera to take a photo of the Himuro Family Master. He swore the ghost should have gone on to rest like all the others trapped in the Mansion. But here he was, facing a ghost that looked exactly like the bloodied figure. How did the Manor do that?

He had to keep moving around the room to keep from getting hit by the blade, that while see through, could still cut him deeply if he got too cocky. Only when the ghost’s cry echoed and faded did he assume he was safe for now. The bastard had a bad habit of seemingly teleporting. Though, guess he got lucky (or maybe unlucky), and the doppelganger ghost dropped a mask and it happened to be the mask that copied the looks of the other masks. How convenient. 

It didn’t take him long to get back to the door that required the mask. Once he placed the white mask onto the hangings, he saw the mask become a wooden devil mask. He went to open the door but stopped himself. He glanced towards the double wooden doors and saw a blue shimmer across them. He raised the camera, taking a picture of it. When the camera revealed the image causing the blue shimmer, he swallowed. _Why that place? Why?_

He gripped the camera tightly and took some deep breaths to calm his heart. After getting a hold of himself, he opened the masked door. 

His eyes widened. “What?” 

How did he end up in the room with stone crossways and planks connecting them instead of the long hallways full of other mask doors? He looked over his shoulder to see the entrance room behind him. He looked between the two rooms again before shaking his head and shutting the door behind him. He moved the flashlight about and saw the water that was still dark and unclear beneath the planks. 

_The room looks the same, but why would the Manor make these two rooms connected? Maybe I can Matt about it if I remember this detail in the morning._

He walked across the planks. He stopped on one of the planks at the sight of a long-haired ghost. “Fuck! You kidding me?” He hated fighting ghosts back then on the planks! He really didn’t care for it now! Though, he did notice he didn’t recognize this ghost at all. Her outfit, long black hair, and the calling out for someone just did not register to him (then again, he had seen more than one ghost of that description. Maybe she just blended with the others).

He jumped across the stone crossways to dodge her and kept taking pictures. After his previous experience, he knew how to take shots that took a good amount of damage while keeping the amount of shots to a minimum. After the ghost disappeared for now, he went towards the door and saw a familiar stone puzzle. The one with the certain amount of moves and getting the stones to all their proper places.

He took the stone off the ground and placed it onto the protruding door lock. It took him a couple of tries to get the Japanese stone character into their proper place before hearing the door unlock. This time, he prepared himself to not see the garden with the bamboo thicket or the well. He opened the door and found himself in a room close to that area though.

“How ironic to be here again.” He remembered this being where the rope shrine maiden had been locked away when alive. While he caught sight of the shrine maiden girl from earlier, he saw no sign of the rope shrine maiden either her corrupted self, innocent self, or whole self. Could the Manor not copy her? This time though, the girl simply stared at him before disappearing. Why were ghosts so cryptic? 

As he moved the flashlight about, he saw the door on the other side was stone doors. He narrowed his eyes. Would that lead to the place in the photo from earlier? He quickly made his way to the door and pushed the doors open as fast as he could. Might as well get it over with. And damn he just had to be right. 

He just had to end up in the room with the rope altar. The place where the maidens had been placed and had their very body parts painfully torn from them while alive. He shuddered at how much the altar looked the same as the one from years ago with even the dried blood still caked onto the platform. While slowly moving about the room, he noticed another set of stone doors. Could that possibly lead to the same place his father had sacrificed himself? 

Before he could go over and check that out, he saw the wooden pillars around the altar start to move of their own accord. His vision became flooded with the sight of the woman with ropes on her neck, wrists, and feet, being slowly pulled apart. His stomach turned, and his heart raced. Just as he saw the skin starting to tear and blood pour onto the platform, he clenched his eyes shut. He walked back until his back hit the stone wall. Only once the sounds of the woman’s cries silenced themselves did he dare to open his eyes again.

A ghost floated in the air that appeared to not have all her parts above the altar now. He could see a head still attached, but he couldn’t quite see her legs or much of her arms. Her frail form and raggedy clothes looked nothing like the rope shrine maiden of years ago. “Guess they couldn’t copy you after all.” 

Which meant as he fought this ghost, he didn’t feel like his life was on the line. Not like back then when getting into contact with the powerful woman would have caused more ropes to appear on him until he was torn up into pieces like Mr. Holt. He kept taking photos and hearing the ghosts’ screams until the camera could no longer detect her. 

He put up the camera and headed towards the stone doors he hadn’t used to enter the room. He placed his hands on the doors. “Dad…” He tried to push the doors, but they wouldn’t bulge. He huffed at that. “Guess that was stupid to think I could see you again…” He backed away from the door and headed back the way he came. With how he had done what he assumed the blue shimmer had wanted from him, he figured he could at least leave the mansion. 

When he got back to the entrance and headed towards the door, he heard the shrine maiden girl again.

“He’s this way.”

He raised an eyebrow and looked to see her pointing to the left hallway. Did he dare follow? He furrowed his eyebrows and tried the wooden doors. He glared at them not bulging. “Should have known.” He gritted his teeth. It looked like he had no choice.

He headed towards the hallway with the hanging ropes and saw the girl now heading down the hallway that had ended in the boarded door.

This time, the door was unlocked, and he was able to open it.

He stepped into a room that was very unfamiliar to him. He let his body become a bit tense and ready to spring into action if need be. He turned the corner and the girl once again walked around the corner. He stomped down the hallway with his gaze focused on where the girl went. His eyes widened when he saw something or someone coming down the other hallway. 

He jumped back and lifted the camera in front of his face. 

“Keith?” 

His eyes widened when he caught sight of a man with grey eyes and dark hair with a white tuft of hair in the front in his camera’s viewfinder. 

“…Shiro?”


	8. Chapter 7 part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro encounters Keith, yet Keith wasn't the only person he hadn't expected to see in this place...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I am currently experiencing a bit of writer's block with this story. But, I wanted to make sure I got something up. So, hopefully you all can still enjoy this chapter. I'll try to get past the writer's block soon.
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: June 19th, 2019

“Keith is that you?” Shiro asked with a faint hint of surprise. As he saw the person lower their viewfinder, he could definitely tell that was Keith now. He sighed with a smile on his face. “I’m glad to see someone that is not a ghost for once. Last time I saw someone still alive…” The smile went away at recalling Veronica. 

“Trust me, Shiro. I think I still got a bit before I would be in Veronica’s state.” He heard Keith try to sound reassuring as Keith approached him. “But, have you found anything? I haven’t yet since I just came out of a part of the mansion that uh…I think was made just for me.”

Shiro blinked at that. “Just for you?” 

Keith nodded. “The parts were all jumbled up, but it was definitely a place I had been to before. The place where I lost my father.” He frowned and looked down at the ground.

“I do remember learning about your father going missing. I am so sorry.” Shiro placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder and squeezed it. “You two were always so close.”

“Yeah.” Keith looked at him. “But, he didn’t just go missing. He died.” He raised his hand to signal Shiro to wait a moment before he continued. “My father went to a place called Himuro Mansion. When he went missing, I went after against my father’s friends’ wishes.” He scowled while clenching his fists. “And because the Hell Gate was there and about to open, my father felt the need to sacrifice himself to help.” 

“Keith…” Shiro frowned and glanced away. “Maybe you would believe me then if I told you how Kuron died.”

“Huh?” Keith blinked. “So, he is dead and not missing?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah, in fact…he said he would pay you a visit. So, be prepared to see him at some point.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

Shiro turned away from Keith, his back slightly to him. “Because I encountered my brother earlier and realized there is a place in this mansion just for me as well.” 

_He groaned faintly as his eyes slowly opened. The wooden bars in front of him caused his stomach to turn. Where he was before hadn’t been a cell. But, it wasn’t the first time the manor had teleported him to a different part. However, the glimpses of red butterflies hadn’t happened before. Not here. The last time he saw them, it was in a place he would rather forget. Yet, as the butterflies fluttered about the inside of the cell, he knew the manor must have replicated the same insects from years ago._

_He couldn’t forget the way they fluttered about calmly through the air as if nothing could impede them. Their faint glow made them easy to spot and hard to ignore. He took a shaky breath as he dared to lower his flashlight towards the floor of the cell. A male figure sat in front of the low desk, looking down. Their hair was longer than his own, reaching a little past their shoulders. A white streak followed down from the top of their head towards the ends of their strands. As if he could forget whose hair that belonged to._

_“If only we could be together…” The male spoke softly, voice cracking as if unused. “But, you just had to kill me, didn’t you?” Quickly, the male turned his head towards him. Shiro knew he would see the same features as his own except without the scar across his face. “Dearest brother.”_

_Shiro took a step back and felt his hands tremble. “How are you here? You should be a butterfly having found your peace! I saw you! You even came back towards me…” He trailed off, feeling his heart race. “Knowing you were able to pass on safely was my only comfort.” He stated with his voice starting to waver._

_The man chuckled loudly. “As if the manor here cares. You just had to get caught up in some stupid mess again, didn’t you?” The prisoner stood up and moved to stand in front of the bars. “But see, if this plays out like last time, you know the ghosts will just spirit me out of this cell at some point and then you won’t be able to reach me. Again.” The man smirked slightly. “Guess I’ll take comfort knowing this will repeat for you all over again._

_“You don’t have to sound so spiteful about it.” Shiro glared faintly at his brother. “You’ve definitely changed since the last time I saw you.” He huffed loudly while glancing at the locks. “Doesn’t matter though. I don’t care what you say. I would still be willing to repeat this to allow you to rest because I care for you.” He tugged at the locks, noticing they were light and shadow based…just like all those years ago. “I’ll be back with the keys.”_

_Just after saying that, he noticed a crimson butterfly flying towards the door next to him and disappearing. It really was like the incident all over again._

_“Why wouldn’t someone turn a bit asshole knowing they were possessed by some ghost and made to be a village’s sacrificial bitch?” Shiro saw Kuron tapping the side of his temple and then shaking his head. “If that doesn’t sour your damn attitude, then I wouldn’t know what would.” Kuron rolled his eyes and sat back down on the ground. “Do say hi to Keith for me though. That is, if I don’t say hi to him first.”_

_Shiro looked over at Kuron. “Wait, how do you know he is here?”_

_“Guess the manor let me know or maybe I’m suddenly all knowing.” Kuron snickered._

_“Yes well, don’t tell Keith about what happened, alright?”_

_Kuron snorted. “I can tell him what I want to. I’m dead after all, and he’ll find out sooner or later.” The two twins locked eyes. “I have a feeling definitely sooner rather than later.”_

_Shiro swallowed at that and quickly left the room. Without thinking, he ran as quickly as he could until he found himself lost and wondering the mansion once again…_

“So, you are trying to find those keys?” Keith asked, causing Shiro to have his eyes widen.

“Wait you…are focused on that?” He figured Keith would ask about the whole killing his brother thing. Instead, Keith still looked at him the same way he had before. Warm and respectful.

“Yeah? I figured you didn’t do what you did out of pleasure.” Keith smiled faintly. “Besides, I know it’s probably best we focus more so on saving his ass than talking about him. Otherwise, things might really repeat again.” He placed his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “So, let’s go.” 

Shiro smiled faintly. “Maybe later, when we are both ready…we can talk about what our own incidents in more detail.” He placed his hand over Keith’s briefly, squeezing it. “But, you are right, we should work on finding those keys.” He moved his hand off and then looked about the area. “I just had some difficulty getting through the rest of that…village area. Maybe you can help?”

Keith nodded. “Sure. After that though, I got to figure out what this one girl ghost wants with me.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “Sure she doesn’t want a piece of you?”

The two chuckled. “Trust me, I don’t think a little creepy girl priestess wants me as her boyfriend.” He lightly punched Shiro in the shoulder. “Think you would be willing to help me with that though?”

Shiro smiled warmly at him. “Sounds good to me.”


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After another reunion happens, Keith tries something that doesn't end up going well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter of this fanfiction. Hope you all enjoy it! Mainly in Keith POV for this chapter.
> 
> Published on Fanfiction.net: 7/25/2019

The two walked down a few various hallways. A reminder of the almost labyrinth nature of this place. He made little knicks on the wall as best he could. If it was like Himuro mansion though, it might not matter. The place may shapeshift again. Morph itself to where open routes became impassable and vice versa. But, he needed the assurance. Just anything to know he had some control of his situation. 

“Keith?” Shiro’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Hm?” He said while turning his head to look at him. 

“You alright?” 

Of course, Shiro was concerned. When wasn’t the guy though?

He huffed faintly. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He shifted his gaze forward. “Just thinking.” 

“About what?” Shiro asked while raising an eyebrow. 

Was Shiro not going to give up on the matter? This time, he didn’t dare to meet Shiro’s eyes. “This place. The past. That’s all.” Sure, maybe he should be willing to be more open with details. He did tell the childhood friend about what happened to his father. It was different to go into specifics. To mention how he saw things he can’t un-see.

A priestess with her limbs and head slowly and agonizingly tugged off her body. The sight of the blood that poured from the five gaping wounds. The arm he swore twitched just once as it landed. Her eyes that were forever wide and full of dread. The mouth that would remain open, forever screaming silently. He didn’t quite wish to scare Shiro with the images.

Then again, what had Shiro seen in that place where he lost Kuron? What else besides the life draining out of his brother’s eyes by his own hands? He frowned and shoved his hands into his pockets. Did he really have any right to add on to Shiro’s scars? 

“I see.” Shiro only spoke two words. Enough for Keith to know the man was letting go of the subject. Yet, was that really the end of it? He glanced quickly over to see Shiro not looking at him. Maybe Shiro wasn’t in the mood to pry persistently. Maybe he was just waiting for Keith to say it on his own? He snorted faintly to himself. He needed to stop overthinking and focus.

“So, do we know where the keys are exactly?” He asked as they approached a door that stood out to him. Not necessarily in its looks. The door itself appeared about the same as most of the other doors in this place. It was the presence behind it that stood out to him. A different sort of oppressiveness than the Mansion or the Manor. What exactly was the place the Manor had dragged into its grasp? 

He watched Shiro open the door. “I can only guess. This place is scrambled. More so than probably your mansion area.” Shiro stepped inside and Keith followed. “After all, the Manor tried condensing only a part of a whole village. Mainly the Kurosawa house.” Kurosawa? Keith furrowed his eyebrows. The last name tugged at some sort of memory. Something important. Nothing came to mind though except for a faint image of a young girl.

“I have a feeling one of the keys will be beyond the room currently haunted by the Kusabi.” 

“Huh, Kusabi?” Keith hadn’t heard that name before. He noticed Shiro standing in front of a cell. He noticed someone sitting casually in the cell, looking at both with a shit-eating grin.

“Well well! Looks like I didn’t need to burst myself out to get to see you again.” The voice, deeper than he remembered, was slightly soothing. Another piece in the puzzle of his past.

“Kuron.” Keith said and moved to stand beside Shiro. “So, looks like you got yourself into trouble again, huh?” He smirked slightly. “And look who has to help you out? Seems like the tables have turned huh?” The smirk lingered on his face even as Kuron rolled his eyes and laughed.

“Yeah yeah, you get to be on your high horse for a bit there, Keith boy.” Kuron stood up and stretched himself. “Good thing you still can joke.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked between the two of them. “So, needed help to get just a few keys, brother? That scared of your old demons?”

Keith scowled. “Hey, don’t get on him.” He stepped slightly in front of Shiro and growled a bit.

Kuron laughed. “Ahhhh, still protective of Takashi I see? Wonder if you remember how protective we both were of you.” He focused his gaze on Shiro. “Better remember that yourself, Takashi.” He smirked slightly. But, something about his eyes was unnerving. Almost as if he was hinting at something.

“I do remember, Kuron.” Shiro lowered his voice a bit and glared at his brother. “Now, let’s go Keith. We need to find those keys or else Kuron will find even more reason to get on my nerves.” 

Keith shook his head. “Guess that hasn’t changed.” He followed Shiro towards the other door in the room. Yet, Shiro didn’t open the door. Instead, Shiro had his hand linger in the air. Shiro’s skin looked paler now. His pupils were a bit blown too. “Shiro?” He looked over his shoulder towards Kuron. The smirk on his face caused him to scowl. “What’s beyond that door?”

“Ohhhh! Now I get why you got lost. You didn’t want to face it again. A reminder of what happened to me?”

“Kuron! Explain!” Keith glared while clenching his fists.

“It’s the Kusabi he’s feeling. It’s a ghost neither of us could really do much about. Guess it was like the sacrifice to buy time until the actual ritual they used. You know, to prevent the bad shit from happening.” Kuron waved his hand a bit and shrugged. “But the guy was as bitch that could kill you in one hit normally. Think it only got weak enough to really deal with near that place.” He pointed to Shiro. “Shiro’s likely recalling the place.”

Keith placed his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “We can just run through alright? Either that, or I’ll fight it and you can get the keys.”

Shiro turned his head towards him. “Keith.” He looked down at the ground. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“Well, if you don’t want me to do it on my own, then we can do it together. Either that, or you’re just going to have to trust me. You wanted to free your brother, right?”

Shiro nodded slowly.

“Then, what is it going to be?” Keith squeezed the shoulder before removing his hand. 

Shiro sighed softly before smiling. “Alright. I think it would be a good idea for one of us to focus on the keys and the other person to act as a distraction.” He rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Just be careful. I don’t know how weak or powerful this Kusabi is here. I…am not even sure if this is the same one, I faced before.” He lowered his hand and gripped the door. “So, be careful?”

“I will.” Keith smiled faintly and entered the room after Shiro. 

He heard loud groaning noises. He frowned faintly at realizing the ghost was still suffering from pain. Death did not give that soul release. He watched Shiro quickly move around the center of the room. Keith ran into the center of the room while taking out his camera obscura. He took a deep breath and moved the camera in front of his face.

“Come on. Let’s go Kusabi.” He took a picture. But he tensed at realizing the camera had no effect. The picture showed and all. However, the ghost acted unfazed. “Well, guess I’ll just have to try the old-fashioned way.” He put the camera up while placing his hands in front of him, clenching his fists. “Not sure this will work…but better than just standing around or running around.”

Not like he had a chance to see if he could make contact with a ghost with his bare hands. It was only when his father told him the truth before he died that Keith would even think it was possible. Might as well try it now! 

He waited until the Kusabi came closer before bringing his arm back and thrusting his fist forward in a straight line. He saw his fist pass through the ghost. He tensed a bit. “Well fuck.” Quickly, he jumped back to avoid the ghost’s touch. Next opportunity, he lifted his leg and kicked with a snap. Same as before. “Dammit!” What use was being what he was again? 

He glared as he now felt like he had to keep dodging now. He gritted his teeth when the ghost’s hand clawed at his shoulder. Blood showed up along the claw marks. He placed a hand over the wounds to compress it. He kept moving around the room, sometimes slamming into the walls. At hearing a door open, he grinned a bit. “Shiro!” 

His eyes widened when he noticed it wasn’t Shiro who had entered the room.

“You all were too slow. And honestly? Both of you forgot that hello? I’m a ghost?” Kuron laughed loudly. “As if I’m bound to walls and shit. These ghosts just seem to like to remember solid matter is a thing sometimes.” He stretched his arms above his head. “Now go on and figure out what is holding Shiro up okay? Think I can handle this.”

Keith scowled and glared a bit. “Right. Whatever.” He really should have remembered that. He sighed and ran out the room via the other door. Hopefully, he could catch up to Shiro sooner rather than later. Because ghost or not, he wasn’t quite sure what Kuron could do to the Kusabi.

“Shiro? Shiro?” He called out as he found himself in some other house now. Not as nice looking as the previous one. As he walked down the hallway though, his eyes widened.

The tattoo priestess stared back at him from the other end of the hallway. 

“Oh fuck.”


End file.
